Love At First Fight
by Lur27
Summary: Story for Caffinate-me's #BookstoreAU challenge. Castle and Beckett meet in the worst way possible at the worst time possible, but their initial antipathy develops into something else.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine. Obviously.

 **A/N:** I haven't written a single word in a VERY long time, so I hope you have that in mind when you start reading this.

I am incredibly excited about this story and I certainly hope that it turns out as great as it is in my head right now. I'll be writing this as it goes, although I do have it planned and sketched on paper and I think it won't be longer than maybe three or four chapters. Maybe five? No schedule, so deal with me. I suck at deadlines.

This is for **Caffinate-me** 's twitter challenge AU in which Kate owns a bookstore. My story is WAY AU in a way. Castle is very different at first because of how his recent life has developed and Kate's backstory is a bit different too. You will see that along the way.

No beta or anything, so forgive any mistakes. I hope you like this! Enjoy!

* * *

 **LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT**

 **Chapter 1**

He checks his watch for the thousandth time and starts tapping the tip of his right foot on the wooden floor of the coffee shop. The line is long and the only barista working right now is not exactly the fastest. Seems like he's going to be late for his meeting again. Not that he cares that much.

"Next!" Calls the waiter to the two women on the line caught up on an, apparently, very interesting conversation about an article on Cosmopolitan. "Ma'am! Please, there are more people waiting." The young man tries again, finally catching the women's attention and taking their orders.

Five more people to go, he thinks. Maybe he should just skip coffee all together and go straight to Black Pawn, but he doubts he'd be able to survive another conversation about Richard Castle's last book's launch party - or the lack of it - without any caffeine running through his veins. The last one was already hard enough to deal with as it was.

He hears the door open and close again and sighs. More people adding up to the line and the two 'Cosmo girls' are still waiting for their coffees.

"Hey, Kate!" Another man calls from behind the counter, a blond guy with blue eyes and a childish face, who wasn't there a second ago. "Here's your fix." He says, winking an eye and holding out a venti cup for the mystery woman that just walked through the door.

"Thanks, Kevin, you're a life saver!"

"Are you kidding me?" He catches himself all but yelling, feeling the ten pairs of eyes in the coffee shop land on him.

 _Shit._

"Excuse me?" The woman asks, eyebrow raised, hand on her waist.

He knows what's coming. He's going to make another scene about something insignificant. He can feel the words piling up at the tip of his tongue; the anger building up, and there is nothing he can do about it. _Shit._ He needs to learn to control his temper.

"I said, are you kidding me?" He repeats slowly, marking the words. "I've been waiting here for almost twenty minutes and you walk through the door and get your own barista and your order in ten seconds flat, while the rest of us have to wait for 'The Flash' here to serve us."

"Hey!" The kid whines, placing the last order on the counter and glaring at Rick.

The woman – Kate - looks at him very firmly and shrugs a little bit. "I'm sorry, sir. I got in line, like everybody else." She explains softly, keeping her voice down and controlled as if trying to tame the beast in front of her. "It's just that my friend there knew I was coming and he got my order before I could even place it myself."

Kevin, the man that came out of nowhere, gives him a tight lift of his lips and a nod. "She's a regular." He offers.

"I don't care who the hell she is." He spits, ignoring Kate's gasp and some disapproving looks. "That was just plain rude to the rest of us."

"The only one being rude here is you, you jackass." The woman raps out, pocking him on the shoulder and shoving her coffee against his chest. "I'm sorry, Kev. I'll be back later."

He watches her walk out the door, his mouth half open and his hand holding a scalding cup of coffee that doesn't belong to him, and without even thinking, he follows her across the street.

* * *

Kate is fuming by the time she enters her bookstore, her mind coming up with a million different replies for the jerk at the coffee house in the twenty seconds walk. Who the hell does he think he is? That bitter, middle-aged idiot.

She pushes the door open and looks around for Lanie, her best friend and employee, who is nowhere to be seen.

"You won't believe what just happened at the coffee house." She starts, placing her bag at the counter and scanning the store in search of the petite woman. "Lanie?" She calls, her brow furrowing. "Hello!"

Kate starts walking around the shelves, picking up misplaced volumes and putting them back on their places as she goes. "Lanie! Where the hell are you?"

"Back in here!" She hears her muffled voice coming from the back-store. "We're out of paper for the cash register."

"Like we need it…" Says Kate, leaning against the doorframe and waiting for the other woman to take her head out of a large cardboard box with the word 'Supplies' written on it in bold, black letters.

"Of course we do!" Her friend replies, turning to look at her, finally. "We have to register our sales. It's the law."

Kate snorts and walks in direction of the counter, running a hand through her hair. "What sales, Lanie? We haven't had anybody walking in here in weeks, and the last one was some tourist asking for directions to the bistro down the street."

"Things will get better, Kate. It's just a little bump on the road."

She looks at her friend with tired eyes. They've had this conversation a million times in the last few weeks and she knows they won't be reaching an agreement this time either.

The business is dead. She knows it, her dad knows it, even Lanie knows it, but she refuses to admit defeat even though they are going out of business in just a few days. She's a warrior, the feisty, little woman, and she loves her for it.

"Anyway… You won't believe what just happened at the coffee house." She starts again, changing topics.

"What?" Lanie asks unimpressed. "Did they give you chai tea instead of your regular latte again?"

Kate rolls her eyes and leans on the counter, watching as her friend organizes a bunch of bills and payment orders. "No. Some guy went mad at me because Kevin gave me my coffee as soon as I walked in and he had to wait in line."

"So? This is New York City, girl. People go crazy about stupid things all the time." Lanie answered with a matter-of-fact expression on her face. "Last week I saw a guy yelling at a cop in Central Park because he stepped on dog crap and in his opinion the NYPD should be putting some more effort in catching those uncivil dog owners."

"Well, he had a point…" Kate jokes. "But this guy… He was a jerk, Lanie. He yelled at Kevin and everybody was looking at him like he was crazy. He was plain rude."

"Again, sweetie, this is New York. Largest amount of looneys per square feet in the world."

Kate sighs and nods. "I know…"

She takes a look at her watch, takes her coat off and puts it on the rack. One more day of nothing starting right about… Now.

Another sigh. "I'll have to go back later, anyway. That jackass kept my coffee."

She looks at Lanie and frowns at the surprised expression on her face. "What?" She asks amused. But her friend ignores her and looks at the door, the stunned look on her face still on.

"Good morning, sir. May I help you?"

Kate hears a throat clearing and then "I… um… I'm the jackass…"

* * *

He can't believe he's doing this. Normally after one of his – recently pretty regular – anger outbursts, he flees the scene to never come back again and prays to whatever power is up there to keep it away from the press, which normally never happens, resulting in dozens of snarky articles and tweets about the dramatic transformation of the raggedly handsome, ladies man, Richard Castle, into some kind of grouchy hermit who yells at kids for tripping on his laptop cord at Starbucks. – Yes, that actually happened.

He knows he needs to work on his anger management, and probably stay away from any kind of human contact while he does so, but for some reason, his bosses at Black Pawn keep making him get out of the safety of his loft and face the world to go to stupid unending meetings, which is, _obviously,_ not a good idea.

Maybe he should also work on his caffeine addiction. Either that, or he could buy his own espresso machine.

He reaches the door to a small bookstore with a tiny showcase of a few different bestsellers and a poster stuck to the window announcing his latest book release in a couple of weeks.

Nine million people in New York City and he has to go and yell at a bookstore owner.

 _Well done, Rick! There is no way she didn't recognize you._

He takes a deep breath and pulls the door open.

"I'll have to go back later, anyway. That jackass kept my coffee." He hears as he walks inside the store. Not a chance she calmed down in the last five minutes, he thinks.

The other woman, the one who is not Kate, petite frame and dark skin, looks at him in a funny way, like someone walking into the store is actually unexpected.

"Good morning, sir. May I help you?" She asks absolutely thrilled.

It makes him uneasy – well, more uneasy – the way she's looking at him.

"I… um… I'm the jackass…" He replies, not knowing what else to say.

Kate turns around slowly, like in slow motion, eyes wide and mouth open. He doesn't give her the chance to speak. He can't afford another meltdown.

"Hi. Kate, right?" He asks, not waiting for her to answer. "I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the coffee shop. I was rude to you and your friend and I am absolutely ashamed of my behavior. I've been under a lot of pressure lately and I was hoping you could understand that I didn't intend anything of what I said to be personally against you. I don't know you; I have nothing against you. I just lost my temper for a second and I'd appreciate if you could keep this between us? I've had enough bad press to last me a lifetime lately, which is not exactly helping with the problem, so, yeah… Um… I… here's your coffee, I hope you enjoy it. Thank you. Have a nice day."

And again, not waiting for her response, he turns around and leaves, speeding his step until he is practically running down the street. He is terribly late.

* * *

Kate looks at the coffee cup the man placed on the counter and then at the door, then the cup again, then Lanie.

"What the hell was that?" Her friend asks wide-eyed and puzzled.

"I have no idea." She mumbles, staring at the door now, as if it could give her any answers. "I mean, that was the guy I was telling you about…" She cuts her speech mid sentence and turns to look at Lanie again. "Didn't he say something about bad press? What was that about? Did he look familiar to you?"

Lanie shrugs. "Maybe a little, yeah. But I can't remember where I've seen that face before."

"Hm. Now that you say it, he does look a little bit familiar."

"He's cute. Actor?" Lanie wonders out loud.

Kate shrugs and scrunches her nose. "Maybe."

"Oh, my God!" He friend suddenly shrieks. "I know who he is!"

"Who?" She asks excited. "Who is he?"

"I can't believe you of all people didn't recognize him, Kate!" Lanie exclaims, rummaging through the drawers, looking for something.

"What do you mean, me of all people? Why would I know the guy?" She defends herself. Like she has to know every crazy man in this city.

"Well," her friend starts, taking a book out of the drawer and putting it on top of the counter, the backside up. "Because he's your favorite author, perhaps?"

No. Freaking. Way.

TBC

* * *

 **I'd love to know what you think. Thanks so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I just wanted to thank you all for your kind words and reviews. You've blown me away, seriously. I was terrified of posting, but you guys made me feel amazing about writing again and I will never be able to thank you enough. You rock!

Now I leave you with the second chapter. I hope it's up to your expectations. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

It's been a couple of hours since Richard Castle left her store and she still can't believe what happened. Making sure Lanie is not looking at her, she checks out the picture of him captured on the back cover of ' _Flowers For Your Grave'_ for the thousandth time. He's wearing a blue dress shirt that brings out the dark hue of his eyes and there's stubble in his jaw, giving him that ragged look that she's always secretly found so attractive. The guy in the picture is smirking, something between mischievous and… adorable, yes, that's the word; like a little boy with a secret.

There was nothing adorable about the man she met today. The new version of Richard Castle is fuller, possibly about 20 pounds heavier. He wears glasses and the stubble has now grown into a full on beard. Still attractive, she thinks. Just… different. Very different.

Kate raises her eyes from the picture and huffs when she catches Lanie smirking at her from behind a shelf. "You really sure it was him?"

Her friend nods as she goes back to dusting the unending rows of books. "Positive." She affirms, picking up a couple of copies of _'Harry Potter And The Order Of The Fenix'_ only to put them down a second later. "I saw an article about him on the Ledger a few weeks ago. There was a picture. Totally him."

"Oh."

"What?" Lanie asks amused, abandoning the cleaning process and coming closer to lean over the counter. "Are you bummed 'cause your celebrity crush turned out to be an asshole?"

"He's not my crush!" Kate groans, slamming the book on the counter, Castle's face down. "And he came to apologize, so he's not that big of an asshole."

Lanie snorts and picks up the dust cloth again. "He was only trying to save his ass. That article I told you about was not exactly _nice_ , you know." She says looking pointedly at Kate. "He said it himself, hun, he has enough bad press to last him a lifetime."

* * *

Rick is over twenty minutes late by the time he arrives at Black Pawn, and the worst part is that he didn't even get his coffee after his little quarrel with the bookstore lady.

He still can't believe that he ran after her instead of in the opposite direction. That is his M.O., or at least, that's what he normally did after the other 'incidents'.

He takes his phone out of his pocket and checks the twitter app, expecting a flood of mentions and private messages talking about what a huge _dickhead_ he is, but there is nothing. Zero. Not a word.

It hasn't been even an hour, he thinks. Give her time. Everybody love their fifteen minutes in the spotlight.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up!" Arthur Henderson, Black Pawn's sales director, sing songs as he walks out of his office. "We've been waiting for you, Rick."

"Well, you know me," he chuckles nervously. "I like the suspense."

Henderson nods unimpressed, shakes his hand and practically pushes him inside the office where two more men and a woman are waiting for them; Ben Miller, his agent, Brian Keller, Black Pawn's advertising manager and Patrice Berkowitz, the CEO.

 _Fantastic!_ He thinks, giving everyone in the room a forced smile as he takes his seat and tries to avoid the woman's glare.

Note to self: not a good idea to reject the person who signs your paychecks.

"Good morning, Patrice." He mumbles with his charming smile on. "I didn't expect to find you here today. You look gorgeous."

The woman rolls her eyes. "Save it, Richard. This is a business meeting not an episode of 'The Bachelor'."

"Of course." He mutters, sitting down and preparing himself for yet another encore of the same meeting of the last four months.

He is tired of this fight. They have had the same conversation a million times since he turned over the _'Storm Falls'_ manuscript. _When do you want to celebrate the launch party? Where should we do it? Who do you want to invite? It should be something big, Rick, it's the end of your series. Come on! You're closing a chapter, man, not the book…_ and so on. Every. Single. Week.

He doesn't want a party. He doesn't want recognition. He doesn't want glam or lights or hordes of women launching at him. He just doesn't. And it doesn't mean that he doesn't understand their confusion about his negative, he does, it's them who don't understand his motives not to do it, and he's just too tired to explain it again.

"Rick, we've talked about this untiringly for months now. There has to be a party!" Brian starts, looking pointedly at him while he plays with his pen. "You are our star writer. We can't just publish your last novel and not give it any kind of publicity. That's not how this works. You've been in the business for a long time, written over two dozen best sellers, this can't be new to you."

"It's not, Brian. And I never said no to the publicity, just the party."

"The party is part of the publicity, Richard." Patrice adds irritated.

"What about a small gathering?" Arthur offers. "Just a couple of friends, the mayor, a few top writers you know and that's it."

Rick raises an eyebrow and snorts. "And the press."

"Well, of course!" Brian rushes to say, almost bouncing out of his chair.

"No."

"Rick." Ben tries to bargain. "Come on."

"I said _no._ "

"Look, Rick, we all know that your relationship with the media hasn't been the best in the last few months, but they adore you! You know that."

"They adore the sales, Ben. And that's not the point, anyway."

"Then what is it? What _is_ the point, Rick?" Patrice inquires, the vein in her forehead growing dangerously.

"The point is that I have nothing to celebrate, ok? You might think it has to be with Storm and the series ending and yes, I admit it does bother me a little bit, it's been a big part of my life, but it needed to end, I was done with it. But what neither of you realizes is that to me this is not the end of a book series. It is the end of my career and I will not celebrate that. I can't."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said this is the end of your career?" Arthur asks getting up from his big chair and walking towards Rick, hands in the air.

"Are you crazy?" Ben adds, reassuringly. "You have a lot to give, man. Lots of best sellers to write."

"That's the problem, Ben. I don't."

The agent's face contorts into a deep frown. "What are you talking about?"

"I haven't written a single word in four months. Even finishing _'Storm Falls'_ was a huge effort. I'm done." There it is. Finally. He dropped the bomb.

All four faces in front of him go blank, including the CEO's.

"That's… not good," Arthur mumbles through clenched teeth. "but it's ok, Rick. Every writer has gone through writer's block once in a while. No big deal. You can break it."

"No, I can't. This is no writer's block. There is nothing in there." He says pointing at his head. "It's empty. Everything is gone. The curiosity, the need to write… I don't feel it anymore."

There is a long silence accompanied by tense looks and then Patrice gets up, picks up her stack of manila folders and her bag from the floor and heads to the door, stopping to talk before she steps out.

"Look, Richard, I know this is not a good time for you." She says firmly. "We all understand that, but you are going to have to get your shit together, because in a matter of weeks your book is going to come out, and whether you like it or not, there is going to be a party."

* * *

Kate checks her watch for the millionth time this morning. Just two more hours until they can take their lunch break. She doesn't even know why she keeps sticking up to a schedule when they have practically zero work to do.

She's about to unlock the screen of her iphone when it starts ringing loudly, startling her and Lanie, who is sitting beside her, browsing through a fashion magazine.

"Jesus! That almost gave me a heart attack!" her friend exclaims, pressing a hand to her chest and laughing nervously.

Kate chuckles and nods looking at the screen as she heads for the back of the store. "It's my dad. I'll take it in the office."

She closes the door once she gets inside of the tiny room that holds only a small desk and a couple of shelves in the back. Sits down on the broken chair she's been meaning to repair for the last two months and accepts the call.

"Hey, dad! How's country life treating you?"

She hears a chuckle and the rustling of fabric before her father replies. "Not bad, honey. How are you?"

"I'm good. Actually glad you called. I was starting to grow roots sitting on that chair…" She huffs, running a hand through her hair.

"Still slow, huh?" Her dad asks, his voice sounding preoccupied.

Kate sighs. "Slow is an understatement. This is dead, dad. I don't think I'll be able to go on like this for much longer."

"Still set on closing by the end of the month?"

She takes a minute to contemplate her options and nods, even though her father can't see her. "Yeah…"

There is a pause and she listens to her dad's breathing through the speaker, waiting for her to go on. "You think... I... Do you think she'd be disappointed, dad?" She asks, two traitorous tears gathering in her eyes.

It's been driving her crazy, thinking that she's taken her mother's dream to bankruptcy, after all the effort and dedication she put into it.

"Of course not, sweetheart!" Her father reassures her. "She'd be so proud of you, Katie. You've done everything you can to keep the business afloat. Things happen. It's not your fault."

"I promised her, dad." She sobs. "I told her that I would keep the store open, that I'd make it the best place in the city and I failed." A rebel tear rolls down her cheek and she wipes it off with the sleeve of her shirt. "I let her down."

Her father sighs loudly and clears his throat. "You took your mom's dream and made it your own, Katie. Wherever she is, she's absolutely proud of what you've accomplished. If you have to close the store, you have to close it. Maybe it's time for you to follow your own dreams."

Kate smiles at that. "This place is my whole life, dad. It might have been mom's dream first, but it became mine too…" She mumbles, reclining on the chair carefully. "I just don't know what else to do."

"Have you told Lanie?" Her father asks carefully, his tone low and caring.

"She knows it's coming, but no, not yet. I'll have to talk to her soon, though."

They fall silent again, both lost in their thoughts.

"Oh!" Kate cries out after a few seconds, when she catches a glimpse of one of Castle's books on her desk. "You won't believe who was here today!"

"Someone famous?" He dad inquires curiously.

"Maybe." She concedes. "Is Richard Castle considered famous?"

"Richard Castle, the author?" Her dad asks incredulous. "He was there? Wow!"

Kate laughs softly. "Yeah, well, not exactly as a customer… He was a bit rude to me at the coffee place and he came to apologize."

"The coffee place?"

"The one across the street, yeah. I skipped the line and he went ballistic. Seriously, I would have never expected him to be such a jerk." She comments, biting her lip. "He seemed nice to me a couple of years ago, when I went to that book signing."

"Well, he was working then. Although, from what I've heard, he has been going through quite a rough patch. A friend of mine worked on his divorce. I'd be mad too if I were him."

"That bad, huh?" She mutters, feeling sorry for the writer. "Anyway, I don't think I'll see him again, so, no big deal. Are you having a good time up there?"

"Oh yes. You know how much I love the cabin. A few days away always do me good. I've been working on the dock. It's almost ready for the summer. You have to come up here when you're free." Her dad insists. "It will clear your mind."

"I might take you up on that sooner than you think." She whines. "Unless some miracle happens."

"Never say never, honey. I'll let you go now. Peter is coming over to help me paint the windows. Talk to you soon, sweetheart. Love you."

"Yeah. Love you too, dad."

She puts the phone down and stares at the book she spotted a minute ago, laying on top of a pile of bills. Why can't she get him out of her head?

TBC

* * *

 **Always want to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/B:** Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the follows and reviews. You make me keep going with this. I hope I am keeping up with your expectations...

Some of you are worried because Castle and Beckett are a little OOC, but AU gives us the chance to play a little bit with certain aspects of their personality and I am enjoying my time doing just that.

There is a little bit of drama on this chapter, but have no fear, things will get better. Scout promise ;) Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

He's still reeling thirty minutes after talking to Patrice Berkowitz on the phone.

She knew that their meeting had been just a couple of days ago, but since she was certain that he wasn't going to start making his guest list for the upcoming party – she didn't care that he refused to celebrate it yet once again – she felt free to send him a draft of it through email, which she was making sure he knew about, so that he couldn't use not checking his mail as an excuse to not giving it a look. She also came up with a list of venues she wanted him to choose from. So thoughtful of her… _"I don't want to be the bad guy here, Richard. At least I am letting you pick the place."_

He hasn't checked his mail yet and he doesn't plan on doing so anytime soon. He has, instead, spent his morning playing with his brand new drone with which he's managed to break two lamps and some expensive, yet hideous figurine his mother gave him years ago for his birthday. Who's to say he's not productive?

He lets himself fall into the couch with a soft oomph and takes his phone out of his pocket. It's been days now and there hasn't been a word online about his full-in act at the coffee shop. He can't believe that stupid speech at the bookstore worked to keep the story away from the media.

Maybe he should… _No. You never go back to the crime scene, Rick, you know better than that._ But… She saved his ass, didn't she? She could have gotten a lot of publicity for her business out of their little quarrel, but she kept quiet and he surely appreciates it. He definitely should go thank her for it.

* * *

It is almost impossible to hail a cab on a rainy day in NYC, so he decides to grab his umbrella and walk the ten blocks to Ryan's, the little coffee shop where everything started.

He wants to talk to Kevin first. He owes the man an apology too, and maybe, if he plays well his cards, he can get some information about Kate. He doesn't know her, but he has the feeling that she's a hard nut to crack.

He enters the coffee shop after a longer than expected walk, half drenched from the rain. He is freezing and coffee sounds heavenly right now, but first things first.

Rick approaches the counter and waves at the barista, not _The Flash_ today, he thinks. At least this one hasn't had the chance to resent him for anything yet.

"Hey kid, I am looking for Kevin." He asks, leaning over the bar. "Is he here?"

The boy squints at him and then opens his mouth in realization. "Oh! You mean Mr. Ryan?"

Castle stutters for a second and then nods. "Um, yes?"

"I'll go get him for you, sir. Wait a second."

The kid disappears behind the brown door that separates the bar area from the back store – he guesses – and comes back ten seconds later with Kevin at his tail.

"This man was asking for you, sir." The barista says, going back to his job without giving them a second look.

"Do I… Oh! It's you…" Kevin grunts, crossing his arms and pursing his lips. "What can I help you with?"

Rick scratches the back of his head and clears his throat, avoiding Kevin's eyes. "I um… I came to apologize to you for my behavior the other day. I am incredibly sorry." He mumbles. "I was not having the best of days and I know that is no excuse to being a jerk, but... yeah. I am really sorry."

The coffee shop owner takes a minute to consider his words, looks at him, eyes narrowed, and then gives him a nod. "Ok." He says, smiling softly. "Thank you for taking the trouble to come all the way over here to apologize. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Rick parrots back. "I mean, thank you, for being so understanding. That's… refreshing." He chuckles. "Now… I would like to ask you for a favor."

* * *

She closes the magazine with a sigh. _When did Vogue become so boring?_ She wonders, putting it under the counter and leaning her head on her hand. _Oh yeah, I know._ She tells herself. _When I started checking it out twenty times a day dew to no work at all._

She ponders her options: Dust the whole place for the umpteenth time this week, do some inventory, which would be useless since they haven't sold a single book in forever, or go get her laptop from the office and start searching for a job.

Option number three wins the poll and she gets up from the high stool they keep behind the counter and heads to the back store lost in her thoughts.

"Good morning." She hears, along with the sound of the door closing.

"Good morning." Kate repeats turning to face the unexpected customer a little puzzled. "May I-" She cuts herself off and stares at him wide eyed.

"Yes, I know." Castle jokes. "Everybody seems to be surprised to see me today."

"Uh… I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see you again." Kate explains, feeling a little stupid after the words leave her mouth. "I mean,"

"No, it's ok. I get it."

They both stay silent for a few seconds, both feeling a little bit awkward, until Castle offers her one of the Styrofoam cups he's holding.

"Grande skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla." He chants, a soft smile on his face.

It catches her off guard. How in the world does he know her order? "Have you been stalking me or something?" She asks, ignoring his offering. "Is that your new hobby?"

She can tell it was not the right thing to say. Castle's face goes somber and she can actually see his anger growing along with the vein in his neck, but apparently he manages to control himself this time.

"What?" He asks shocked. "I… No! I was at the coffee shop and talked to Kevin." He explains, offering her the cup again.

"Oh really? And what else did you talk about?" She questions, grabbing the coffee from his hand a bit harshly and placing it on the counter.

"Nothing." The writer defends himself. "I just came here to apologize."

"You did that the other day." Kate counters, her brow curving above her left eye.

Castle shrugs. "Well, yes, I did, but I also wanted to thank you for not going to the press with it. You did me a big favor."

She snorts, she can't help it. He has been on the paper quite a lot lately, according to Lanie, but it's not like he's a super star or anything. "Yeah, well, no big deal. It's not like you're Patterson or Lehane. Or, you know… George Clooney." Oh, that definitely bruised his ego.

"Funny!" He laughs falsely. "Very funny."

She can't help but chuckle. "Look, you don't have to thank me for anything. It's ok. Seriously."

He sighs relieved. "Ok. Good."

Another silence takes over and they stand in front of each other, fidgeting and not knowing what to do.

"Kevin told me you're closing?" Castle asks at last, picking the worst topic he could to break the ice.

It catches her by surprise but she nods, picking up the coffee cup from the counter and taking a long sip. "Yes."

The writer nods slowly, taking a look around the whole place. "That's a shame. This place is something."

"How would you know? You've been here for five minutes." She counters rolling her eyes.

"I'm a writer. I've been to hundreds of bookstores. This one has something that makes it special. I can tell. It has… a soul."

"It does." Kate agrees, deflating.

"Isn't there anything you can do to stay open? It's really sad that a place like this has to close."

Ah, there it is. She hates that question. It makes her so mad! This is her life. How can anybody think she has kept from doing all she can to keep the store going? It is so ridiculous that people even think to ask that.

"Don't you think I've tried, _Castle_?" She spits his last name so angrily the writer startles. "This is my business, my life. Whatever was to be done to save it is done, I can assure you."

"I'm sorry, you're right. I was just… Maybe I could help somehow. I owe you one after all."

"You don't owe me anything." She answers tiredly.

She can't go on with this. She's had this conversation too many times. The last thing she needs is her _'former'_ favorite author to add to her already growing guilt. "Look, I've been running this store perfectly fine for the last ten years without your help, ok?"

"I don't think _perfectly fine_ applies when you're going to close…"

Oh, man. This guy doesn't know when to shut up. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry but if you ha-"

"No! Stop it, ok? Just let it go. I don't want to hear anything else about this."

"Kate, please, I just want to hel-"

"Get. Out!" She exhorts, pointing at the exit.

"But…"

The author looks flabbergasted. She knows she's probably overreacting, but she's done with this guy. She's done with him and with this conversation. He needs to go.

"I said, get out. I don't need your pity and I don't need your help. Just get the hell out of my store."

Castle opens and closes his mouth a few times, but nothing comes out, so he turns around and walks out nodding his goodbye to Lanie who is watching them from the door, a grocery bag in her right hand and her phone in the other.

"What the hell was that?" Her friend asks, putting her bag down against the counter.

Kate brushes her hair back and shakes her head, smiling nervously. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Lanie inquires, her eyes wide as saucers. "A best selling author just offered himself to help keep _your_ store open and you kicked him out! That looks like a lot of a something to me!"

"Lanie, it was nothing." Kate huffs, her hands folding into fists.

"No! You keep avoiding the issue with me, Kate, but I know what's coming and I surely won't lose my job without a fight."

"You think I want to close? Is that it?" She yells, her eyes stinging. "This was my mom's dream, Lanie! I've tried everything in my hand to keep this running, but there is no use. We're done. I'm done."

"You've tried everything but letting him help us." Her friend counters, nostrils inflating with every angry breath.

Kate shakes her head and turns around; she needs to get away from this. "He's an immature, egotistical, self-centered jackass and I don't want anything from him, ok?"

"You cannot be serious!" Lanie calls, following after her.

"Lanie! Enough." She slams the office door on her friend's face and leans against it.

She can't do this anymore.

Outside, smirking behind the window of the store, Patrice Berkowitz speed-dials her advertisement manager. "Hey, Brian? I just found the perfect place for the _'Storm Fall'_ launch party."

* * *

After talking to Brian Patrice finishes her coffee and spends a while window-shopping to let some time pass by, so that the woman from the store can cool off after her fight with Rick. She has no idea what kind of relationship they have, but she definitely will make sure Richard Castle pays for the audacity of turning her down.

Twenty minutes later she enters the store, candid smile on her face, and approaches the woman at the counter.

"Morning! My name is Patrice Berkowitz, could I speak to the owner, please?"

"May I ask what for?" The woman asks, reticent.

"Business, of course. I have an offer that she might be interested in."

It takes Kate a few minutes to finally come out and meet Patrice. She's been crying and her mascara stained face wasn't exactly the perfect look to talk business with anybody, or to talk to anybody. Period.

"Hi!" She greets the businesswoman, offering her hand to shake. "Patrice, right?"

"Patrice Berkowitz, yes. And you are?" The woman inquires, looking at her curiously.

"Kate Beckett. Nice to meet you." She offers. "Lanie told me you have something to offer me?"

Down to business. No need to beat around the bush.

"I do, actually." Patrice assents. "I am the CEO at Black Pawn Publishing. I don't know if you're familiar with us?"

"Yes, of course."

"We're releasing the last book of a very well known author in a few weeks and we wanted to celebrate the launch party somewhere special. I just passed by your shop and I think it's just the perfect place for us."

Kate stares at the woman for long seconds and then snaps out of the initial shock. "I'm sorry, what?"

"We would like to lease your store as the venue for our party." Patrice replies naturally, as if renting a bookstore for a party was the most common thing in the world.

"I'm sorry, but we're not a party venue. This is a bookstore."

The woman clears her throat and continues. "I am aware of that." She agrees. "Your friend here just told me that you are about to close, is that right?"

Kate narrows her eyes at Lanie and nods. "Yes."

"Then this shouldn't be that much of an inconvenient." She adds. "We will pay whatever you think is fair."

She ponders the offer. There is no way they would pay the amount of money she needs to keep the store open, but maybe she could get enough for her and Lanie to live for a few months until they find their footing again.

"Anything?"

Patrice nods and takes out her checkbook, clicking a small blue pen on. "Just say the number, dear."

* * *

She walks out of the store with a huge smile on her face. Now it's time to break the news to the aforementioned author. She's sure he'll be _thrilled_.

She dives into her purse and takes her phone out, scrolling through her contacts until she finds Castle's number. She clicks on his name and waits.

"Hello, Patrice. To what do I owe the honor this time?" The writer greets her, a tired tinge to his voice.

"I just wanted to share the good news with you." She goads, smiling mischievously.

She hears him sigh. "What news?"

"I found the _perfect_ place for our party!"

He goes silent and she worries he just hung up on her, but then he asks, "where?"

She takes a breath and then breaks the news to him, rejoicing in the idea of making Richard Castle squirm. "A small bookstore in SoHo. _Charming_ place if you ask me. Maybe you know it? It is called _'Johanna's Dreamland'_ ".

Silence again. This time it's longer, heavier, but she's certain that he didn't hung up after the bomb she just dropped.

"I just talked to the owner, some… Kate Beckett. Lovely woman." She notes. "I told her that you would call her to give her the guest list. Well, not the list, of course, but the number of people. She offered to help with the arrangements since she doesn't want anybody messing with the place. I'll give you her number."

Still not a word from the writer and she can't help but smile to herself. "Are you taking note of it?"

"Yes." Is all she gets.

She recites the phone number to him twice to make sure he gets it right and then hangs up. Mission accomplished.

"Kate Beckett." She answers distractedly as she digs on her caprese salad, stabbing a piece of mozzarella with her fork and putting it in her mouth.

"What are you trying to do?" The voice booms through her phone speaker, startling her.

"I beg you pardon?"

"First you make me feel like an idiot for going there to apologize, then you refuse any kind of help from me and now you are going to host my book party?" He screeches.

"Castle?" She hisses, dropping her fork onto the Styrofoam plate and getting up from her seat. "The party is for you?"

"Oh, and now you're going to tell me that you didn't know!"

"I didn't know." She grunts. "I wouldn't have agreed to it if I would have." She mumbles through greeted teeth. She can't believe she got into this.

"Call her and tell her you won't do it." Castle demands from the other end of the line.

"What?"

"Tell Patrice you changed your mind and you don't want to do it."

"And why on Earth would I do that?"

"Oh, come on! You don't want me there and I don't want a stupid party, so call her and tell her that the deal is off."

"First of all, you don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do." She roars. "Second, I need the money and third, just the fact that you don't want this is making me want to do it even more, so forget it. The party is on."

She takes the phone away from her ear and presses the cancel button, cutting the call short. What is it with this guy that makes her want to rip his head off? She doesn't even know him and he manages to get under her skin like nobody else.

No doubt she will have time to find out what the deal is with him, since they will have to, at least, bear with each other until the whole party thing is over.

What the hell did she get herself into?

TBC

* * *

 _Ok, I've been working on this for 6 hours straight. It is 1 am and I am exhausted and will probably have like 5 hours of sleep tonight. There will be mistakes. Tons of them. I am deeply sorry. Bear with me, please!_

 **Thanks so much for reading. Let me know what you think!**


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